The back of toothbrush is for tongue scraping – Dentist
According to Dr. Anna Adams, a dentist at the Marks Dental Clinic, the back of a decent toothbrush is just for scraping the tongue.
According to Dr. Adams, most individuals just brush the inside of the tongue, ignoring the back, which is where 80% of the germs in the mouth are stored.
Dr. Adams claims that the brush’s back was designed to resemble a tongue scraper in order to make it easier to remove bacteria from the back of the tongue and eliminate foul breath.
Speaking to Asieduwaa Akumia on Prime Morning on Tuesday, she advised that people should pay more attention to the posterior part of the tongue to avoid halitosis.
“The tongue scraper is normally used after brushing. So when you check the ideal toothbrush recommended for brushing, you notice that there are some rugged…rough edges that mimic what we call the tongue scraper. After brushing, you turn the other side and use that to brush your tongue,” she said.
Additionally, she said, “It could also be that you are not brushing your tongue properly. About 80% of the bacteria dwell on the posterior part of the tongue. So you can brush the interior part of the tongue and forget to brush the posterior part. So you may have that gag reflex when you try brushing inside, but you must concentrate more on that side when brushing.”
Aside from poor oral hygiene, the dentist said that foods that are high in volatile Sulphur compounds, like onions and garlic, can also cause halitosis.
The dentist further mentioned that some medicines and other human activities dehydrate the mouth, thereby causing bad breath.
“You could also have some medications that could cause bad breath. Alcohol and smoking. Anything that causes dehydration in the mouth [less saliva flow] will lead to an environment that is very conducive for these bacteria to feed on and produce these compounds.”
She advised that people regularly visit the dentist for checkups (every six months at minimum) and cultivate the habit of practicing oral hygiene to avoid halitosis.
